Squash ace gets scholarship

Barbados and Caribbean squash champion Sumairaa Suleman is the proud recipient of a scholarship to Westover High School in Middlebury, Connecticut.

Suleman, a former student of Harrison College and Providence Secondary School will join the Westover High School family in September where she will play and study for the next three years.

A former four-time junior Caribbean squash champion, the 15-year-old Suleman features regularly in competitions hosted by the Barbados Squash Club and is currently ranked number one in Barbados and number two in the region for Under-17s.

During an interview with Barbados TODAY, Suleman expressed how elated she felt about the opportunity. She noted her aim was to work hard while pursuing her studies at one of the highly acclaimed boarding schools in the United States of America.

“I am just really excited to go into a new environment and meet new people,” Suleman said.   

Already familiar with a few female players on the Westover team, Suleman added that going up to Connecticut her plan would be to continue with further development of her game.

Despite having such a great determination to keep improving in the sport, one thing for sure Suleman has done Barbados proud.   

Delivering outstanding performances for Barbados at the junior level, Suleman has dominated the Caribbean Area Squash Association championship for four consecutive years in the Under-13 and 15 age groups from 2015 to 2018.

In 2017 she made her first appearance on the Barbados senior women’s national team that included former two-time regional queen Meagan Best. Over the years she continued to impress and has a strong support system that includes her parents Kareema and Ebrahim Suleman.

Singing the praises of her parents, Suleman said: “My family has always been supportive, seeing if the matches are playing live so they can watch me, or they are always at matches. So my parents have been my biggest supporters.”

In addition, Suleman lauded former 15-time national champion Karen Meakins and reigning national number one Meagan Best with whom she has been playing practice matches to improve her game.

Even though the talented Suleman will be attending Westover High School, it is expected that she will be available to play for the Barbados national team whenever duty calls.

Besides playing squash, Suleman enjoys running and even proudly represented both Providence Secondary and then Harrison College in the finals at the Barbados Secondary Schools Athletics Championship. She also loves swimming and while home on lockdown during the Coronavirus pandemic, she started playing road tennis which she described as a fun time with her cousins.

morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb